When two local content creators met while working to promote Galesburg’s independent coffee shops, they quickly realized they shared the same goal — to spotlight the city’s small-business community in a bigger way.
Katelyn Davis of The Social KD Marketing & Event Coordination and Stephanie Sikorski of Core Communication & Consulting first collaborated on a video campaign encouraging residents to “sip local” as a national chain prepared to enter the market last year.
While Davis promotes The Beanhive Coffeehouse and Sikorski works with Orange Cup, this campaign was about highlighting what all downtown coffee shops offer. In the campaign, the owners of The Beanhive, Orange Cup, and Innkeeper’s Fresh Roasted Coffee are featured not in competition with each other, but as friends and community members with common goals.
“One of the things we discovered in filming the commercial that highlighted all three coffee shops was that each coffee shop has built a particular vibe and has a particular loyal community of customers,” said Sikorski of Monmouth. “So when one coffee owner visited another coffee owner, they could recognize the value that the other coffee shop was bringing to the community.”
Davis and Sikorski say they vibed while collaborating on “sip local.” So over coffee, of course, they started talking about what else they could do together in the community.
“We have so many ideas. We need to learn how to connect these ideas and continue working together because I really like you and you're so fun,” Davis said.
That’s the essence of the idea behind the first-ever Downtown Galesburg Coffee Crawl, scheduled for Saturday, April 25 — working together, highlighting local businesses, and having fun with it.
The crawl will take place from 8 to 11:30 a.m., with stops at The Beanhive, 124 E. Simmons St., Innkeeper’s, 80 N. Seminary St., and Orange Cup Sidecar, 337 E. Main St.
Participants can walk or take unlimited trolley rides between the locations.
A $40 ticket includes a custom tote bag, punch card, raffle entry, and unique offerings at each stop.
“They can expect to find a VIP experience with drinks and samples, perhaps coupons, perhaps percentages off, and big sales on merchandise,” Sikorski said. “We've left it up to each coffee location to bring their vibe and their flavor to the event.”
Davis, a Galesburg native who returned to the area last year after living out of state, said she hopes people will explore other downtown businesses as they move been the stops on the crawl.
“I want to encourage all ages but especially the younger generation to continue to support your local community and come in. We have so many great things to offer,” Davis said.
A couple weeks out from the Coffee Crawl, nearly 650 people have expressed interest in the event online. The organizers say that reflects both excitement about the event itself — and the reach social media has for small businesses.
“Because people are picking up their phone, and they want to ask their phone, whatever app that they use, what’s for lunch today? And that’s how they’re going to make their choice, whether they are on Facebook or Instagram or whatever,” Sikorski said.
So Davis and Sikorski say their work focuses on helping local businesses stay visible in that environment, whether that’s through artful photos, funny Reels, or compelling storytelling.
Sikorski said their work also helps small business owners focus on other things.
“What my business offers as far as content creation goes is relieving the burden on small businesses of trying to do everything in terms of in regards to marketing and advertising,” she said.
For Davis, success isn’t measured only in views or likes but in whether online posts translate into people walking through the doors of local businesses.
“I will be at The Beanhive and they'll be like, oh my gosh, I saw this post on social media and it made me want to come in and try this. And that's a huge win for me because that means people are seeing what I'm posting. They're liking what it is. They're engaging with it,” Davis said.
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